WPIAL board unanimously approves Ligonier Valley request to join District 7

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, November 18, 2019 | 5:30 PM

The WPIAL board voted unanimously Monday to accept Ligonier Valley as a member.

The District 6 school has asked to leave its PIAA district and join the WPIAL (District 7) for all sports starting in the 2020-21 school year. The WPIAL vote leaves one final administrative hurdle before that can become official: Approval by the PIAA board at its Dec. 4 meeting.

But that’s likely only a formality.

“They’re Westmoreland County,” WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said, “so I would think that they’ll get approved.”

The District 6 board already voted to grant the school’s request to leave.

Ligonier Valley spent 43 years in the WPIAL (1927-69) before leaving for District 6. The high school sponsors football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls golf, boys and girls basketball, swimming, wrestling, boys and girls track, baseball and softball.

Under the current PIAA alignment, Ligonier Valley is a Class 3A school for baseball, softball and boys and girls basketball. It competed in Class 2A for all other sports.

“This is an exciting time,” Ligonier Valley football coach Roger Beitel said. “We’re looking forward to a new challenge and a fresh start. All we have is one small hurdle to clear in December.

“It’s going to be exciting to be joining an historic league. It’s a league that appreciates what you do and doesn’t diminish your achievements.”

Ligonier Valley just finished a four-year run where the Rams went 51-4, captured four consecutive Heritage Conference and Appalachian conference titles and played in four consecutive District 6 Class 2A championships games, winning in 2016 and 2017.

The boys basketball team has also played in two consecutive Class 3A championship games, winning in 2018.

Ligonier Valley’s football numbers will place them in Class 2A for the next two seasons. The school could decide to play up in Class 3A, but Beitel said he’s excited to compete against teams more their size.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Ligonier Valley